"When I get too far away from students, I start to twitch. I love the relationships I build with my classes." After 17 years in the classroom, Sarah Downing-Ford retains that essential element necessary for teacher joy: a genuine love of her students.
This affection, coupled with strong pedagogical knowledge and instincts, has helped Sarah become a leader in her school and beyond.
After completing undergraduate work in elementary education at St. Joseph’s College, Sarah began her career in Massachusetts and Colorado before making her way back to Maine, where she has “been the most impressed with the schools and professionalism.” As an educator in Waterboro, Sarah was a pivotal member of the Massabesic Middle School team. “I have met dedicated and soulful teachers here,” she says. She has since achieved a Master’s degree in USM’s Professional Educator program and obtained K-12 certification in Massachusetts.
This affection, coupled with strong pedagogical knowledge and instincts, has helped Sarah become a leader in her school and beyond.
After completing undergraduate work in elementary education at St. Joseph’s College, Sarah began her career in Massachusetts and Colorado before making her way back to Maine, where she has “been the most impressed with the schools and professionalism.” As an educator in Waterboro, Sarah was a pivotal member of the Massabesic Middle School team. “I have met dedicated and soulful teachers here,” she says. She has since achieved a Master’s degree in USM’s Professional Educator program and obtained K-12 certification in Massachusetts.
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Before most Maine educators had even heard of the personalized learning trend, Sarah was a pioneer in this effort. Her classroom, a place where students took ownership of their own learning, served as a model to other curious teachers, and her work was featured in interviews and MDOE videos. In addition to facilitating training within her own district (teaching everyone “from bus drivers to superintendents,” she adds), Sarah’s experience with learner-centered, proficiency-based education also made her a sought-after commodity to other districts, for whom she has led professional development for the past three years.
This natural talent for sharing practice has made Sarah a valuable resource for the Southern Maine Writing Project. After participating in the Invitational Summer Institute in 2008, Sarah co-facilitated the course in 2009. In 2011, she became the director of SMWP’s Young Authors Camps, a role in which she excelled, expanding the number and geographic reach of these popular summer offerings. |
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Sarah speaks fondly about her experience with the Southern Maine Writing Project and suggests that educators collaborate to find “ways that we all can improve our own practice and schools”:
"SMWP has not only sparked my interest in being a teacher leader, but it has also fostered my growth as a writer. I have never thought of myself as a writer, but now I see that I need to honor my process of writing, thinking, and working in order for my students to see and value theirs. Before my work with SMWP, I was content flying below the radar within my school and district. I knew I was doing "okay" work, but I didn't want to stand out for fear that what I was doing in my classroom was wrong; it can be an isolating profession. Once I started my work with SMWP, I saw that a lot of my fears and concerns about education were commonly held by other professionals."
A leader, change agent, and writer, Sarah Downing-Ford is a teacher dedicated to her draft, but more importantly, to her students:
"At the beginning of each year, I talk about how we are going to form a relationship and that I, undoubtedly, will fall in love with them. They give me the common strange look of middle schoolers, but at the end of the year, as we reflect on the past 10 months, they agree. Not only did we have a wonderful relationship, we fell in love."
"SMWP has not only sparked my interest in being a teacher leader, but it has also fostered my growth as a writer. I have never thought of myself as a writer, but now I see that I need to honor my process of writing, thinking, and working in order for my students to see and value theirs. Before my work with SMWP, I was content flying below the radar within my school and district. I knew I was doing "okay" work, but I didn't want to stand out for fear that what I was doing in my classroom was wrong; it can be an isolating profession. Once I started my work with SMWP, I saw that a lot of my fears and concerns about education were commonly held by other professionals."
A leader, change agent, and writer, Sarah Downing-Ford is a teacher dedicated to her draft, but more importantly, to her students:
"At the beginning of each year, I talk about how we are going to form a relationship and that I, undoubtedly, will fall in love with them. They give me the common strange look of middle schoolers, but at the end of the year, as we reflect on the past 10 months, they agree. Not only did we have a wonderful relationship, we fell in love."